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An Electronic Travel Authorization (eTA) is a new requirement for foreign nationals from visa-exempt countries arriving in Canada by air, whether to visit the country directly or to pass through in transit.

Process for Determining if the Authorities Have Made a Positive Eligibility Decision

The Process for Determining if the Authorities Have Made a Positive Eligibility Decision

The authorities have specified certain requirements for people keen on obtaining Bridging Open Work Permit (BOWP). Based on these specifications, foreign nationals would need to submit their applications for permanent residence. In addition, these foreign nationals would need to ensure that they have received a positive eligibility assessment from Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC). The authorities consider positive eligibility assessment as applicable when:

The applicants receive their Acknowledgement of Receipt letter (and not the notice of receipt of electronic submission) and,

The applicants can confirm the following from the Global Case Management System (GCMS):

For Federal Skilled Worker Class (FSWC) applications:

If submitted prior to January 01, 2015:

The status of the Ministerial Instructions activity displays ‘Met’ or,

If the authorities have send a positive Final Determination of Eligibility letter or e-mail

If submitted on or after January 01, 2015:

The Centralised Intake Office (CIO) has sent an Acknowledgement of Receipt letter that confirms that the application has passed R10 completeness

It is worth noting that this is not the Electronic receipt of Application for Permanent Residence (APR) notice, but rather the Acknowledgement of Receipt letter issued in the Global Case Management System (GCMS)

For Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) applications:

The authorities have set the status of the Eligibility EC-QC/PNP activity as ‘Passed’ or,

The Centralised Intake Office (CIO) has sent an Acknowledgement of Receipt letter or e-mail

For Canadian Experience Class (CEC) applications:

The authorities have set the status of the Eligibility CEC activity as ‘Passed’ or,

The Centralised Intake Office (CIO) has sent an Acknowledgement of Receipt letter or e-mail

For Federal Skilled Trades Class (FSTC) applications:

The Centralised Intake Office (CIO) has sent an Acknowledgement of Receipt letter or e-mail

Express Entry

In the Express Entry application process, the authorities will typically send a notice and a letter to the applicants. In many cases, this letter will be the Acknowledgement of Receipt. It is worth highlighting that the applicants would only be able to use the letter for supporting their Bridging Open Work Permits (BOWPs).

The officers would need to issue a notice (the Electronic Receipt of the Application for Permanent Residence (APR)) to the applicants automatically. They would do so once they receive the applicants’ electronic application submissions. This notice would typically specify the following:

“Your application is being checked to determine whether it meets the requirements of a complete application pursuant to section 10 and section 12.01 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations.”

However, applicants would need to note that they would not be able to use this notice for supporting a Bridging Open Work Permit (BOWP). This is because this notice does not reflect that the applicants have received a positive eligibility assessment. This positive eligibility assessment is a necessity for obtaining a Bridging Open Work Permit (BOWP).

The officers will also issue a letter i.e. the Acknowledgement of Receipt to the applicants. They would do this after their applications have cleared a completeness check. This letter will usually specify the following:

“CIC has reviewed your application and determined that it meets the requirements of a complete application as described in section 10 and section 12.01 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations.”

Applicants would need to remember that this is the official Acknowledgement of Receipt letter. Therefore, applicants would need to use this for a supporting a Bridging Open Work Permit (BOWP). This is especially the case if the applicants meet all the other requirements prescribed.

The Process for Determining if the Nomination has Employment Restrictions

The officers are responsible for assessing whether the applicants are subject to restrictions on employment. To facilitate this, the authorities have provided provinces and territories (PTs) with a new nomination template letter. Several provinces and territories (PTs) have already implemented this letter. Other provinces and territories are still in the process of implementing it.

This nomination template letter will contain a box. Officers of Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) could use this for determining whether the nomination has any restrictions. The authorities have instructed provinces and territories (PTs) to select ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ under employment restrictions. This will provide Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) officers with a confirmation of whether the nominee is eligible for applying for a Bridging Open Work Permit (BOWP). Typically, this box contains details such as:

The employer

The name of the occupation and the National Occupation Classification (NOC) and,

The restrictions on employment fields

Provinces and territories (PTs) can display the above-mentioned details. At the same time, they could still indicate that there are no employment restrictions. In this scenario, the applicants would be eligible for an open work permit. But they would need to meet the other eligibility criteria specified. It is worth highlighting that the officers would need to avoid requesting applicants or the nominating province to confirm that no employment restrictions exist.

It is worth highlighting that some previous versions of nominations might not carry specific indications on the letter. In many cases, these indications highlight any applicable employment restrictions. In this scenario, the applicants would be eligible for an open work permit as long as they meet the other eligibility criteria. Therefore, officers would need to avoid requesting applicants or the nominating province to confirm that no employment restrictions exist.

Note:

Processing officers might continue to see both the old and the new nomination letter formats

This is because the provinces and territories (PTs) are gradually implementing the new nomination letters

Therefore, processing officers would need to ensure that they accept both versions of the nomination letters